NHL offseason grades: Pacific Division
Divisions: Central | Metropolitan | Atlantic (Thursday)
With the NHL offseason all but wrapped up, we're handing out comprehensive grades for all 32 teams. The four-part series continues with an in-depth look at each Pacific Division club.
Some contract figures are reported. Most players on two-way deals have been omitted.
Jump to:
ANA | CGY | EDM | LAK | SJS | SEA | VAN | VGK
Anaheim Ducks
⭐ Re-signed F Isac Lundestrom to 1-year deal with $1.5M AAV
After Anaheim missed the postseason for the sixth consecutive year, general manager Pat Verbeek stated that he wanted his Ducks to be "in the conversation and making the playoffs" in 2024-25. But are the Ducks approaching that goal? Or are they closer to a top-10 pick for the seventh straight draft? Unfortunately for Anaheim, we lean toward the latter.
If Verbeek went big-game hunting in the offseason, he's got nothing to show for it. Though Fabbri and Dumoulin are solid depth options, neither player projects to fill a role in the top six up front or in the top four on the blue line - both areas Verbeek was looking to fortify. Anaheim's biggest add is arguably Cutter Gauthier, who made his NHL debut in the Ducks' season finale. He's undoubtedly set to take on a sizeable role for the franchise, but it's important to remember that he's a rookie and isn't about to wave a magic wand that will launch the franchise into its contention era.
The message Verbeek may be sending here is that Anaheim's young core needs to take a big step to get the team to where it wants to be. No outside help is coming, but that isn't necessarily a wrong move at this juncture. These Ducks need to fly at some point.
Grade: C+
Calgary Flames
⭐ Signed F Yegor Sharangovich to 5-year extension with $5.75M AAV
We've lost track of how the Flames prefer to describe their situation, but if it looks like a rebuild and walks like a rebuild ... you know the rest. Calgary's more or less avoiding the word, but it's nonetheless progressing well.
GM Craig Conroy wasn't overly active on the free-agent market - the new guys fill some holes, but they don't move the needle and can be flipped for assets later on. Instead, Conroy did his heavy lifting on the trade market. Let's start with the biggie. The Flames moved out Markstrom to the New Jersey Devils for a 2025 first-round pick and Bahl. Conroy did admirably well here despite having zero leverage thanks to Markstrom's no-move clause. The trade sets the stage for Wolf to take the reins as the No. 1 guy.
Calgary also shipped Mangiapane off to Washington for a 2025 second-rounder. The winger is signed for one more season with a $5.8-million cap hit and wasn't a fit for the Flames' future plans. Conroy deserves extra props here, as he didn't have to retain salary or add a sweetener to swing it.
The Flames' biggest signing was Sharangovich, who was rewarded for his career-high 31-goal campaign. His new deal begins in 2025-26 and could be a bit of a gamble if he can't replicate his recent success, but it will look like an absolute steal if the 26-year-old builds on his breakthrough.
Grade: B
Edmonton Oilers
⭐ Signed F Leon Draisaitl to 8-year extension with $14M AAV
⭐ Re-signed F Connor Brown to 1-year deal with $1M AAV
⭐ Re-signed F Adam Henrique to 2-year deal with $3M AAV
⭐ Re-signed F Corey Perry to 1-year deal with $1.4M AAV
Earlier this offseason, the Oilers were cruising to A-plus territory. Jeff Jackson was crushing it as interim GM, bringing back tons of familiar faces, dealing from a position of strength (center) to acquire a promising prospect in Savoie, and scooping up a pair of forwards in Skinner and Arvidsson.
Then, Edmonton faced backlash for hiring Stan Bowman as GM, who had previously been banned from the NHL for his role in the Chicago Blackhawks' 2010 sexual assault scandal. Next, the Oilers were hit with offer sheets to Broberg (two years, $4.58-million AAV) and Holloway (two years, $2.29-million AAV) by St. Louis. Their new cap hits may be a bit steep, but both losses sting, as they were starting to prove they belong in the league. Holloway played in all of Edmonton's playoff games this spring, while Broberg ended the final on the second pair with Darnell Nurse. Though Broberg is left-handed, the right side of the Oilers' defense is in a dire state without him and Ceci, who was traded in a cap-dumping move.
Edmonton has almost $946,000 in cap space, though it's unclear if Evander Kane ($5.125-million AAV) will start the year on LTIR. The Oilers need to maximize every dollar of cap flexibility to improve on the back end as they embark on another year of Draisaitl and Connor McDavid's primes. Speaking of Draisaitl, Edmonton signed him to a monster extension that starts next year and extended its championship window in the process. By not letting talks drag out into the season, the Oilers wisely avoided any distractions. They'll have to think about giving McDavid more than $14 million next summer, but that's a later problem. Pay your best players.
Grade: B+
Los Angeles Kings
⭐ Re-signed F Quinton Byfield to 5-year deal with $6.25M AAV
⭐ Re-signed D Jordan Spence to 2-year deal with $1.5M AAV
⭐ RFA F Arthur Kaliyev remains unsigned
Perhaps the best barometer of success for the Kings' offseason is this - did they boost their chances of beating the Oilers if they get locked into a first-round meeting for the fourth straight year? The answer is no. In fact, they may be in danger of missing the playoffs entirely. There are a lot of good teams in the West, and some of last year's middling squads improved while L.A. stagnated.
GM Rob Blake successfully dumped Dubois' bloated contract on the Capitals. However, he swapped seven more years of Dubois at an $8.5-million price tag for three years of Kuemper at $5.25 million. It's better, but not ideal. Kuemper lost Washington's starting job to Charlie Lindgren last season and posted an .890 save percentage over 33 games. Talbot, the man Kuemper is replacing, owned a .913 clip in 54 contests. If Kuemper can't hold off the high-powered attacks of their divisional rivals, the Kings may need to rely on David Rittich, Pheonix Copley, and the inexperienced Erik Portillo to save their season.
After the failed Dubois experiment, the Kings are still in need of another top-six forward. L.A. got more physical by bringing in Foegele and Jeannot, but neither are slam dunks to play on the top two lines. On the back end, losing Roy hurts, and Edmundson's contract adds insult to injury by being a total eyesore. Byfield's pact is the only thing preventing the Kings' grade from being worse. He enjoyed a breakout year and his deal should only look better over time.
Grade: D+
San Jose Sharks
⭐ Signed G Yaroslav Askarov to 2-year extension with $2M AAV
The Sharks should at least hit the 20-win mark this season! All razzing aside, GM Mike Grier's work this summer is worthy of an A-plus grade. The crown jewel of his moves? Prying Askarov from Nashville. San Jose was in need of a franchise netminder, and there's a strong chance that Askarov fits that bill. Sure, he doesn't currently have the best defense in front of him, but he's only 22 and fits the rebuilding timeframe perfectly.
Grier was on fire even before adding Askarov. Case in point - Celebrini said San Jose's early offseason dealings pushed him to turn pro now. Among the top additions is Toffoli, a scoring winger who has hit the 30-goal mark in back-to-back seasons. A four-year deal for a 32-year-old at that price point could be a bit steep for a contending team, but the Sharks aren't hurting for cap space, and it's worth it just to give Celebrini a talented linemate. The Sharks also made a host of other low-risk, high-reward moves, like claiming two-time Stanley Cup champion Goodrow off waivers and acquiring Walman (plus a second-round pick) from Detroit.
Celebrini isn't the only prospect set to join the Sharks. Smith also signed his entry-level deal, and there's plenty of other youngsters who could see NHL action throughout the year. San Jose will likely still be closer to a lottery team than a playoff threat, but it'll at least be watchable and, dare we say, exciting.
Grade: A+
Seattle Kraken
⭐ Re-signed F Matty Beniers to 7-year deal with $7.14M AAV
⭐ Re-signed F Eeli Tolvanen to 2-year deal with $3.475M AAV
⭐ Signed D Adam Larsson to 4-year extension with $5.25M AAV
Seattle is looking to get back into the playoff picture after regressing last year, and GM Ron Francis' offseason moves support that goal. Bringing in Montour gives the Kraken a dynamic, right-handed option to play alongside Vince Dunn or serve as an upgrade on the second pair. Stephenson, meanwhile, is a versatile forward who can be a key contributor on the Kraken's second line. Oh, and both players are recent Stanley Cup champions.
The only problem? Those contracts are long. Montour and Stephenson will be 37 when their pacts expire, and the latter's AAV in particular is steep. Seattle will get some relief if the cap continues to rise as planned, but it's a hefty price to pay if Montour stops being a top-four option in the early years of his deal or if the speedy Stephenson loses a step sooner rather than later. However, we view the Kraken's summer as a win overall because they're better right now, which they need to be if they hope to make headway in their division and the crowded Western Conference at large.
We also can't talk about the Kraken's summer without addressing Beniers' extension. The franchise cornerstone's cap hit may raise some eyebrows seeing as his career-high offensive totals don't jump off the page, but he's only 21 and has already displayed his two-way chops. It's a deal he'll certainly grow into over time, and the Kraken got it done before training camp.
Grade: B+
Vancouver Canucks
⭐ Re-signed F Dakota Joshua to 4-year deal with $3.25M AAV
⭐ Re-signed D Filip Hronek to 8-year deal with $7.25M AAV
⭐ Re-signed D Tyler Myers to 3-year deal with $3M AAV
⭐ Re-signed G Arturs Silovs to 2-year deal with $850K AAV
The Canucks could've used a slam-dunk top-line winger after their offense dried up in the playoffs. Though GM Patrik Allvin wasn't able to land someone of Jake Guentzel's stature, he got the next-best (and cheaper) thing.
DeBrusk is gritty, has a nose for the net, and can play in all situations. However, he can be streaky and has a propensity for cold stretches. That being said, he should have plenty of opportunities to rack up points in Vancouver's top six, and he'd also been in Boston for seven years, so the change in scenery could give him some extra pop.
On the back end, the Canucks took a hit by losing Cole and Zadorov. Allvin was able to add two physical replacements in Forbort (6-foot-4) and Desharnais (6-foot-7), so Vancouver's third pair will still have some bite. Hronek's extension, meanwhile, isn't team-friendly but should provide fair value if he builds on his career year as Quinn Hughes' running mate.
There is a big question mark in net. Reports indicate that Thatcher Demko isn't going to be ready for the preseason and might not be good to go for the regular season. Silovs, a rookie, can probably hold down the fort in the short-term, but Allvin will need to seriously investigate the goalie market if Demko is going to miss a substantial amount of time.
Grade: B+
Vegas Golden Knights
⭐ Re-signed F Pavel Dorofeyev to 2-year deal with $1.835M AAV
The Golden Knights have gone a few months without angering 31 other fanbases, which is odd. They've been quiet this offseason, a consequence of their active trade deadline in which they added Noah Hanifin and Tomas Hertl.
Unfortunately for GM Kelly McCrimmon, his summertime sacrifices were significant. Leading the way on that front is Marchessault, who inked a five-year deal with a $5.5-million cap hit in Nashville. That deal is extremely fair value for the winger, who is coming off his first 40-goal season. Marchessault didn't feel as though the Knights "tried their best" to keep him, and we can see McCrimmon regretting that decision - Vegas is quite thin up front even when all its stars are healthy.
Sin City also took a gamble in goal by moving out Thompson, but that was more of a favor to the netminder, who wanted more playing time. Samsonov will likely take over the backup role and is coming off a rough ride in Toronto. His $1.8-million deal could end up looking questionable.
All in all, the Knights got worse. Assuming they stay healthy, their core players are talented enough to power them into the playoffs. However, Vegas was nearly done in by injury trouble last season, slipping to the second-wild card spot in the West after months of looking like a dominant force in the Pacific.
Grade: C
(Salary figures courtesy of PuckPedia)